Areas we serve / South-east Melbourne / Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett
Lawyers and solicitors for Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett
Development sites and rezoning, units and townhouses, shop leases, disputes, wills and family law for Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett clients, from our Frankston office about 20 to 30 minutes away.
How we help Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett clients
Choose what you need help with. Each one opens the detail further down this page.
Legal services for Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett clients
Mentone takes its name from a Mediterranean resort that was a favourite of British Prime Minister Gladstone, and Tom Roberts, Frederick McCubbin and Arthur Streeton painted on its beach in the summer of 1886-87. Cheltenham takes its name from the Cheltenham Inn, opened in 1853, and is home to Southland, which Myer opened as a drive-in shopping centre in 1968. Kingston Council’s offices are on the Nepean Highway in Cheltenham, and the Moorabbin Justice Centre is in Highett. Cheltenham and Highett are shared with the City of Bayside.
Both areas are changing. The state’s plan for the Mentone activity centre and the Suburban Rail Loop plan for Cheltenham are now in the planning scheme, allowing more housing close to the stations. We act for owners selling or buying development sites, for buyers of units and townhouses, for landlords and tenants of shops, for people in disputes, and for families with wills, estates or a separation. Radek Dajer, our principal solicitor, acts personally on each matter, in English or in Polish.
Local note
The Suburban Rail Loop station at Cheltenham is planned under part of Sir William Fry Reserve, with an entrance on Bay Road and a link to Southland station. The government expects trains to run from 2035.
Property, planning, leases and disputes in Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett
Choose a topic to see what it involves and how we help.
New planning controls around Mentone station and in the Cheltenham Suburban Rail Loop precinct change what can be built on many sites.
- Mentone activity centre: the state’s plan for Mentone has been finalised and approved through Amendment GC285, and the new planning controls are now in place.
- Cheltenham: the Suburban Rail Loop East structure plan for Cheltenham was included in the Bayside and Kingston planning schemes in July 2026 through Amendment GC246.
- Heritage stays: under the state’s activity centre controls, heritage and landscape overlays stay in place.
- Selling or buying a site: a sale of land with development potential can involve an option or a contract subject to a planning permit. We draft and review these, and check the zone, overlays and any covenant on title.
Units and townhouses make up much of the housing near the stations, and about a third of Mentone households rented at the 2021 Census.
- Before you sign: we check the contract, the section 32 statement and the planning controls on the land, including any overlay, and suggest changes while you can still negotiate.
- Cooling-off: for many private sales of residential property, you have 3 clear business days after signing to end the contract. There is none at a publicly advertised auction.
- Owners corporations: units and townhouses with common property are managed by an owners corporation. Read the rules, the fees and any special levies before you sign.
- Off-the-plan: the deposit is capped at 10% and held in trust until registration, and buyers have rights if the plan changes materially or is not registered in time.
Leases for shops and offices on the Nepean Highway, around the Mentone and Cheltenham stations and near Southland, for landlords and tenants.
- Disclosure: for a retail lease, the landlord must give the tenant the Small Business Commission’s information brochure when negotiations start, and a disclosure statement and the proposed lease at least 14 days before the lease is entered into.
- Minimum term: a retail lease, including options, must generally run for at least 5 years, unless the tenant obtains a certificate from the Small Business Commission and gives it to the landlord.
- Disputes: most retail lease disputes must go to mediation at the Victorian Small Business Commission before VCAT can hear them. We act for landlords and tenants at the mediation and, if it does not settle, at VCAT. Non-retail lease disputes are generally heard in the courts.
- Surrender: a deed of surrender to end the lease early by agreement, covering any surrender payment, make-good and the return of security.
Unpaid debts, contract disputes and claims in the Magistrates’ Court, often at the Moorabbin Justice Centre in Highett.
- Unpaid invoices: start with a clear letter of demand. The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000, and VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
- Moorabbin Justice Centre: at 1140 Nepean Highway, Highett, it hears civil disputes up to $100,000, criminal matters and intervention orders.
- Statutory demands: a creditor owed a due and payable debt of at least $4,000 can serve a statutory demand on a company. The company has 21 days from service to pay or apply to court to set it aside, and the court cannot extend that time.
Wills, powers of attorney and estates, and separation, property settlement and parenting arrangements.
- Wills: executors, gifts, guardians for young children and testamentary trusts, including for blended families.
- Enduring power of attorney: appoints someone to make financial or personal decisions for you, and continues if you lose capacity. Made under the Powers of Attorney Act 2014 (Vic).
- Family provision claims: must generally be filed within 6 months after the grant of probate or letters of administration.
- Separation and divorce: are separate legal steps under the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth). You do not need to be divorced to settle property or parenting arrangements, and a divorce does not settle them for you.
- Time limits: married couples must apply to the court within 12 months after their divorce takes effect, and de facto couples within 2 years after the relationship ends.
Near the Moorabbin Justice Centre
Civil claims up to $100,000 from this area can be heard at the Moorabbin Justice Centre in Highett. We act for you there, at VCAT and in the higher courts.
Getting paid
Recovering a debt, step by step
From the first letter of demand to enforcing a judgment. We act for you at each stage, in English or in Polish.
01
Letter of demand
We state the amount, how it arises and a reasonable deadline. If the debtor offers to pay by instalments, we record the arrangement in writing.
02
Choosing where to sue
The Magistrates’ Court hears claims up to $100,000; larger claims go to the County or Supreme Court. VCAT hears disputes about goods and services.
03
Default judgment
In the Magistrates’ Court, if no defence is filed within 21 days after the claim is served, we can apply for judgment without a hearing.
04
Defended claims
Disputed claims under $10,000 are generally referred to arbitration. Larger claims may go to a pre-hearing conference or mediation first. We act for you at each stage.
05
Enforcement
If the debtor still does not pay, the options include an oral examination, a warrant to seize property, attachment of earnings and instalment orders.
How we work
Visit us from Mentone and Cheltenham
435 Nepean Highway, Frankston VIC 3199
Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm, by appointment
From Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett
About 20 to 30 minutes by car along the Nepean Highway.
By train
From Highett, Southland, Cheltenham or Mentone station on the Frankston line to Frankston station, a short walk from our office.
Parking
Wilson Parking at 453 Nepean Highway, street parking on the Nepean Highway, and the car parks at McDonald’s across the road and at Dan Murphy’s.
Common questions
Can’t see your question? Call 1800 776 529 or send us a message.
Around Mentone station and in the Cheltenham Suburban Rail Loop precinct, new controls allow more housing, with taller buildings closest to the stations. What applies to your land depends on its zone and overlays, which the planning property report shows. We check these before you buy, sell or build.
A Magistrates’ Court matter generally goes to the court closest to where it arose or where the other party lives. For this area that is usually the Moorabbin Justice Centre, 1140 Nepean Highway, Highett, which hears civil claims up to $100,000. Objector appeals and appeals about permit conditions in Kingston are usually heard at VCAT Frankston, near our office. Cheltenham and Highett are split between Kingston and Bayside, so check which council your land is in.
Start with a clear letter of demand setting out the amount, how it arises and a deadline. If that fails, we can issue a claim in the Magistrates’ Court or at VCAT, depending on the debt. Most claims for a debt under a contract must be started within six years of the date payment fell due.
Not unilaterally, unless the lease or the law gives you that right. The usual routes are a negotiated surrender, or an assignment of the lease to an incoming tenant, often on the sale of the business. Both require the landlord’s involvement.
Our office is at 435 Nepean Highway, Frankston, about 20 to 30 minutes by car from Mentone, Cheltenham and Highett, or by train on the Frankston line. Much of the work can be done by phone, video and email.
Yes. Radek Dajer speaks Polish and can take your instructions and explain your documents in Polish. See our Polish-language page.
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Talk to us about your Mentone, Cheltenham or Highett matter
Tell us briefly what has happened or what you are planning. We reply to every enquiry within one business day, by phone, email or text, whichever you prefer.
What happens next
- Send the form.
- We reply within one business day.
- We arrange a time to talk, or ask for any information or documents we need first.
Prefer to talk? Call 1800 776 529, Monday to Friday, 9:00am to 6:00pm.